Outrageously Easy BIG Bread
2 (1/4 ounce) packets yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons turbinado
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups + 3 cups flour, divided
1/3 cup vegetable or corn oil
1. To proof yeast, pour warm water into a small ceramic bowl and add the yeast, but do not stir. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, pour hot water over the turbinado and salt; stir with a wooden spoon to completely dissolve. Combine 3 cups flour with the hot water mixture. Pour the oil on top of the dough mixture then add the yeast mixture on top of that, but do not stir.
2. Top with the remaining 3 cups flour and mix well. (I begin mixing with the wooden spoon but I very quickly have to move into squishing the dough with my hands.) At this point, the dough should be pliant and moist, but not gooey. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside to rise for at least 45 minutes. (I've left it for almost two hours.)
3. On a lightly floured cutting board or countertop, divide the dough into half. (This is when I recruit someone to knead the dough, but the recipe actually calls for no kneading; I've done this recipe many times without kneading anything, and it always turns out really good.) Flatten each half into roughly an oval/rounded rectangular shape, about 1/2-3/4" thickness.
4. Roll the dough lengthwise and place on an ungreased, but very BIG, cookie sheet. (If you don't have a very large cookie sheet, use two cookie sheets, one for each half of the dough.) Cover the dough with a moist towel and set aside to rise again for another 45 minutes (or longer).
5. After the dough has risen the second time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for exactly 23 minutes. If you can keep everyone from digging in right away, allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then enjoy. (Also, before the bread bakes, you can slit the top of each lump of dough a couple of times and brush lightly with some kind of egg substitute. The glaze helps the bread come out with a slightly crunchier crust. I don't usually bother.)
Source of recipe: Whenever I go to potlucks, I bake this bread and it disappears within minutes. I've even had special requests for it. At a family Christmas, after I found out that store-bought rolls (ick!) would be served with the Christmas Eve dinner, I announced that I would make homemade bread. Since dinner would be served in a little less than two hours and since my family knows how much I absolutely detest cooking, my mother thought I was lying. She couldn't believe that I could make "respectable" bread without any kneading and in time for dinner. I made this bread and, as usual, it vanished almost instantly. My mother got this bread recipe from me. I think the dogs got the store-bought rolls.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This bread was great! I subbed in some whole wheat flour, and will probably sub in even more the next time I do this recipe. Move over bread maker - here comes hand-kneaded bread! I ended up getting two 9 inch loaves out of this. They didn't puff up extremely. My bread was more dense and chewy. That's how I like it though. Been using it for toast the last few days. I can't get enough! Had a dinner party where I served it Saturday night. BIG BIG HIT!
OMG!!!!!!!! THIS BREAD IS SOOOOO AMAZING!!!! My whole family and I are in loooovvveee we just made it 30 mins ago and my mom, little bro and I have already finished off the first loaf!!! Im never eating store bought bread again =D :)>>>
Can you use pastry flour? Or just regular flour?
Two thumbs up!
;)b ;)b
This recipe is fantastic.
I baked up a single loaf, cut out a little heart for the top, baked it up and brought it to my friend's wedding, declaring it "Love bread". Her new husband and her broke it in half together and (thanks to the fact I triple-wrapped it before hand) were able to eat it while still warm. She was delighted.
Since then, any occasion is precipitated with a call asking if I'm going to make my "special" bread and bring it to share.
Thanks to the others who respond with suggestions & such too, this recipe is always changing thanks to all the reviews.
GREAT recipe, so easy that I have stopped buying loaf bread at the store and instead make 2-4 loaves of this a week. Even my kids love it - they get upset now if I make their sandwiches on store-bought bread! :D
Again, LOVE this recipe. I've been trying to avoid buying bread and just making it myself instead. this is the recipe I use almost all of the time and it always turns out delicious! Usually I half it, sometimes mix in half whole wheat flour, and I added sunflower seeds and ground flax to the last loaf. Soooooo good.
everyone is right. this was amazing! thanks for the great recipe. definitely a keeper. i made a homemade butternut squash soup with it and it was one of the best dinners ever. ;)b
This recipe is very easy to make and quite forgiving. It is best consumed immediately in the form of rolls because it gets dry very quickly. It is also quite bland unless you add some herbs or seeds to it. My rolls with chives made from this recipe were a big hit at Thanksgiving. Thanks!
Yummy!
It stuck like mad to my dark cookie sheet, but popped right off of my light one. Maybe that's because the dark one has a permanent layer of "sticky" at this point... Anyway, I made a batch of this to turn into Thanksgiving stuffing with half whole wheat flour and half white bread flour. I can't believe how easy it was. I've always kneaded dough forever (or used my kitchenaid dough hook), but this turned out fine with absolutely minimal kneading. Cool!
Hi does anyone know if you can use unbleached white flour in this recipe? :o
Yes, you can. That's what most bread it made from. I usually make bread using mostly whole wheat & some unbleached. All unbleached will be fine, but will have much less fiber.
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